Privacy
Last updated: 7 November 2026.
This policy explains what information MDM Belgium Forum handles when you visit, how it is used, how long it is kept and what rights you have over it. We have tried to write it in plain language. The short version: you can read the whole site without an account, we do not sell data, and we keep as little as we can while still running the site properly.
Who is responsible for your data
The controller of your personal data is MDM Inc, which runs MDM Belgium Forum. If you have any question about this policy or about your data, write to us through the contact page.
What you can do without giving us anything
You can read every page, search the site and follow links without giving us your name, your email address or any other personal details. There are no user accounts on this site, so there is no profile, no password and no login history to store.
Information we handle
Server logs. Like nearly every website, this one runs on a web server that records technical information about each request: your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the browser and system you use, and the page you came from. Our hosting provider stores these logs. They are used to keep the site running, to find faults and to detect abuse, and they are not used to build profiles of visitors.
Votes on replies and polls. When you vote on a reply or answer a poll, we record which reply or poll you voted on, your choice and the date and time. So that each visitor counts once, we also store a code calculated from your IP address, your browser's identification string and a secret value known only to the site. This calculation is one-way: we store the code and not your IP address, and the code cannot simply be turned back into the address. Because the code is derived from data about your connection, we treat it as personal data.
Answers you submit. When you send an answer through the form on a thread, we store the username you chose, the text you wrote, the thread it belongs to, the date and time, the review status and the same kind of one-way code described above. We do not ask for your name or your email address. Please choose a username that does not identify you, and do not put personal details in your answer, whether your own or anyone else's. Once an answer is approved it becomes public, together with the username you chose.
Messages you send us. If you write to us through the contact details on the contact page, we receive your email address, your message and anything else you choose to include, and we use them to answer you.
Information stored in your browser. When you vote, the site saves a small note in your browser's local storage to remember that you have already voted on that reply or poll. This lets the page show your vote when you return. The note stays on your device. It is not a cookie, and it is not sent to our server when you browse. You can delete it at any time by clearing your browser's site data.
Cookies
The site uses Google Analytics to count visits and to see which pages are read and how visitors find the site. Google Analytics sets its own cookies (their names start with _ga), which hold a random identifier and last up to two years. Apart from these, the site itself sets no tracking cookies and runs no advertising. Search works inside your browser and does not send your search terms to us. Other services on some pages may set cookies of their own, as explained in the section on third parties below. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time, and Google offers a browser add-on that turns Google Analytics off on every site.
Why we use this information, and on what legal basis
Where the General Data Protection Regulation or a similar law applies, we rely on the following legal bases.
- Legitimate interests, for server logs and for keeping the site secure: we have an interest in running a reliable site and in stopping abuse.
- Legitimate interests, for the one-way code attached to votes and answers: we have an interest in counting each visitor once and in detecting spam, and this method is designed to do that without storing your IP address.
- Your choice to take part, for votes and for the answers you submit: nobody has to vote or post, and the data exists only because you chose to.
- Legitimate interests, for answering the messages you send us, or the steps needed for a request you made.
- Legal obligation, where the law requires us to keep or disclose information.
- Legitimate interests, for visitor statistics (Google Analytics): we have an interest in knowing how the site is used so that we can improve it. We look only at totals and trends, never at individual visitors.
We do not use your data for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you, and we do not sell it.
Third parties
We keep outside services to a minimum. Fonts, images and search are served from this site itself, so viewing a page does not normally send your data to those providers. The exceptions are these.
Hosting and delivery. Our hosting provider stores the site, the database and the server logs on our behalf. We may also use a content delivery or security service to protect the site and deliver pages faster, and that service would process your IP address and request details for this purpose.
Embedded videos. Some threads include a video hosted on YouTube. The player loads from YouTube when it comes into view on the page, and YouTube, a Google service, can then receive your IP address and set cookies under its own privacy policy. If you prefer to avoid this, do not open pages with a video, or block third-party content in your browser.
Spam protection. The answer form may use Cloudflare Turnstile to tell people from automated programs. When it is active, Cloudflare receives technical data about your browser and connection for this purpose.
Visitor statistics. We use Google Analytics, provided by Google Ireland Limited. When a page loads, your browser sends Google the address of the page, the page you came from, your browser and device type, your approximate location (derived from your IP address, which Google Analytics does not store) and the random identifier in its cookie. Google processes this under its own privacy policy and may transfer it to the United States, where Google is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
Links to other sites. Pages link to sources and to the origin of images. Once you follow a link you are on another site, under that site's own privacy policy, and we have no control over what it does.
Some of these providers may process data outside your country, including outside the European Economic Area. Where that happens, the transfer relies on the safeguards the law requires, such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or if it is needed to protect the rights and safety of the site, its visitors or others.
How long we keep information
- Server logs are kept for a limited period set by our hosting provider, normally a few weeks, unless they are needed to investigate abuse.
- Votes and their one-way codes are kept for as long as the reply or poll they belong to remains on the site.
- Published answers stay on the site until they are removed, on request or by our decision.
- Answers that are refused are kept only as long as useful for moderation, and they are then deleted.
- Messages to us are kept as long as needed to deal with your request and any follow-up.
- Visitor statistics are kept in Google Analytics for the period set in our account, at most 14 months. The cookie on your device expires after two years at most.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- ask for access to the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy of it;
- have inaccurate data corrected;
- have your data deleted, including an answer you posted;
- restrict how we use your data, or object to a use based on legitimate interests;
- receive data you gave us in a commonly used format;
- withdraw your consent, where we rely on it, without affecting what was done before.
To use any of these rights, write to us through the contact page. Because there are no accounts and we do not store IP addresses with votes, we may need details from you to find what concerns you. For an answer you posted, the address of the page and the username you used are usually enough. We answer within the time the law sets, normally one month.
You also have the right to complain to your national data protection authority if you believe your data has been handled unlawfully. We would be glad to have the chance to put things right first.
Security
We protect the site with measures suited to the small amount of data involved, including encrypted connections, restricted access to the database and to the moderation tools, and the one-way codes described above. No system is completely secure, however, so please avoid posting anything you would not want to be public.
Children
This site is meant for a general audience and is not directed at children. Children should not submit answers or send us personal information. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We may change this policy when the site or the law changes. The current version is always on this page, with its date at the top. If a change significantly affects how your data is handled, we will make that clear on the site.